Eskom: 9 Employees Rescued from Angry Residents in Tshwane During Tense Hostage Situation

• An area in Tshwane called Mabopane has made headlines after residents held nine Eskom employees hostage
• Reports state that the power utility's employees were held hostage due to unrest over a mini substation that was out of service
• The parastatal's Gauteng spokesperson stated that the employees were rescued by the SAPS and are now safe

Residents of Mabopane, north of Tshwane, have released nine Eskom employees whom they took hostage. The Eskom employees were being held hostage by members of the Morula View community.

Reports state that the members of the community were insisting that a mini substation in their community be restored. The displeased community members wanted the substation to be fixed as soon as possible as it was reportedly out of service.

Gauteng spokesperson for the embattled power utility Amanda Qithi confirmed that the Eskom employees were saved by the SAPS.

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According to power utility, it was suffering a scarcity of mini substations and undergoing an increase in incidents of failure of equipment due to unlawful connections, interference as well as infrastructure destruction.

EWN reported that Eskom's employees were carefully extracted by the SAPS on Monday evening, 13 September. According to JacarandaFM, Qithi stated that Eskom is attempting to communicate with the community about the reasons behind failure to repair the station.

She went on to explain that the parastatal is trying to cope with the scarcity of mini substations, which has, in turn, resulted in the setback of the substitution of the necessary hardware. Qithi further requested that residents be patient as they attempt to sort the issue out.

Eskom reports Kendal power station damaged after fire breaks out

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Previously, Briefly News reported that Eskom confirmed that a fire broke out at the Kendal power station, resulting in damage to Unit 1.

The fire also caused Units 2 and 3 to trip. The fire had damaged cables that supply the main cooling system. Staff were evacuated and no injuries were reported. Eskom is investigating the cause of the fire and the extent of the damage.

News24 reported that Kendal power station is different to most of the power plants in the country in that it used significantly less water.

The South African Government is planning to stop loadshedding and get Eskom back on top

Previously, Briefly News reported that the Public Works and Infrastructure Department has reportedly published a plan involving the South African Government's important developments up until the year 2050. It is called the National Infrastructure Plan.

One of the main points of the plan is the country's energy supply. The government proposed a move from fossil fuels and therefore the ongoing loadshedding within 30 years. The DPWI stated that loadshedding has been caused by a number of factors.

A report by BusinessTech revealed that while the majority of the plan of action focuses on changes that will be put in place by 2050, there is a specific section that focuses on direct and immediate changes planned to be implemented within the next three years.

Source: Briefly News